40 Years of Coeducation Events Highlight Festivities
The youngest alumna honored with the Helen Stahr Hartman Award helped set a tone of gratitude, reflection and celebration for Homecoming Weekend, which drew more than 1,850 alumni, family and friends to campus Oct. 23-25.
Layne Amerikaner '07 uncovered a 1968 quote from Anne Presley, a student's wife taking classes before coeducation, who said: "Your classroom is tense as far as having a girl in it goes. Nobody speaks to me. I know that guys aren't used to seeing girls in the classesonly on weekends as dates."
Amerikaner summed up the sentiments of the many women who have since attended when she thanked Presley "for continuing to go to class even though she knew she wasn't welcome and even though I imagine she knew that because she was seen as a 'date' and not as a student, she would have to work very hard to have her ideas taken seriously."
Friday's Legacy of Women Celebration Luncheon honored Amerikaner and nine other women with the inaugural Hartman Awards given by F&M's Alumni Association to individuals who have distinguished themselves and served as mentors and role models for women.
The recipients, whose fields include academia, the arts, business, government, medicine, nonprofits and sports, are Judith White, Ph.D., '73, Elizabeth Miller '73, Jane Orie, Esq., '84, Maria Rocco Morris '84, Anne Mascarenhas '94, Shannon McNally '95, Lauren Paul '03, Amerikaner, Patricia S.W. Epps and Alice Drum, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Clark Mackey '75, who described her role as chair of the Legacy of Women Homecoming Committee as a "labor of love," handled the emcee duties, and F&M Trustee Susan Kline Klehr '73, P'12, presented the awards.
Layne Amerikaner '07 uncovered a 1968 quote from Anne Presley, a student's wife taking classes before coeducation, who said: "Your classroom is tense as far as having a girl in it goes. Nobody speaks to me. I know that guys aren't used to seeing girls in the classesonly on weekends as dates."
Amerikaner summed up the sentiments of the many women who have since attended when she thanked Presley "for continuing to go to class even though she knew she wasn't welcome and even though I imagine she knew that because she was seen as a 'date' and not as a student, she would have to work very hard to have her ideas taken seriously."
Friday's Legacy of Women Celebration Luncheon honored Amerikaner and nine other women with the inaugural Hartman Awards given by F&M's Alumni Association to individuals who have distinguished themselves and served as mentors and role models for women.
The recipients, whose fields include academia, the arts, business, government, medicine, nonprofits and sports, are Judith White, Ph.D., '73, Elizabeth Miller '73, Jane Orie, Esq., '84, Maria Rocco Morris '84, Anne Mascarenhas '94, Shannon McNally '95, Lauren Paul '03, Amerikaner, Patricia S.W. Epps and Alice Drum, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Clark Mackey '75, who described her role as chair of the Legacy of Women Homecoming Committee as a "labor of love," handled the emcee duties, and F&M Trustee Susan Kline Klehr '73, P'12, presented the awards.
If Friday afternoon was a time of thanks and reflection, the evening kicked off the weekend's celebrations that started with the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. A campus pep rally, organized by the student-run Blue & White Society, followed as a boisterous opening act for the basketball teams' Midnight Madness.
Saturday morning featured a conversation with Mary Schapiro, Esq., '77, chair of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, where guests were treated to an insider's look at the financial world.
Saturday also brought rain, which moved the tailgate extravaganza inside and turned a 20-7 Diplomat victory over Muhlenberg College into a mud bath. Led by a spirited Alumni Board, John and Ben mascots and Pep Band, the tailgate had a party atmosphere.
That spirit continued at the screening and launch party, where two F&M student projects saluted 40 years of coeducation. Unveiled was An Institution Re-Founded: Coeducation at Franklin & Marshall College, the result of an oral-history project by Alysse Vaccaro '11 and Johanna Schein '11. In addition, the first screening of Alma Mater's Daughters, a film that features 26 interviews with significant F&M women, was held.
To see clips from Alma Mater's Daughters, go to www.fandm.edu/almamatersdaughters.
For more Homecoming photos and to read about the Hartman Award winners, go to www.fandm.edu/homecoming.